Contradictions in US govt’s statements add to uncertainty on fees

Indian professionals and immigration lawyers said on Saturday they were baffled by conflicting signals from the Trump administration over its new H-IB visa fee structure, with officials’ statements contradicting the actual executive order text.

- Shashank Mattoo

‘Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick told reporters at the White House on Friday that companies would pay $100,000 per H-IB employee annually, but the presidential proclamation released the same day makes no mention of recurring payments.

“There is indeed a discrepancy between what Mr Lutnick said at the press conference and the signed Proclamation. There may be changes or more documents coming, but all we know for now is what is in the Proclamation. As written, the Proclamation requires a payment of $100,000 per petition, not annually,” said Henry Lindpere, senior counsel for immigration at Manifest Law.

The confusion extends to visa renewals, with Lutnick suggesting companies renewing H-IBs for existing workers would also pay the new fee. However, US officials told HT that the charge applies only to new visas, not renewal petitions for three-year extensions.